Hannibal Season 3 spoilers: Red Dragon killer cast

With Season 3 of NBC’s Hannibal within biting distance, the casting announcements have stepped up a notch, with star of The Hobbit trilogy Richard Armitage being confirmed in the role.

Armitage will play Francis Dolarhyde, the serial killer otherwise known as the ‘Tooth Fairy’. The primary adversary in Thomas Harris’s book Red Dragon (along with Hannibal Lecter himself, of course), he was played on the big screen by Tom Noonan in Michael Mann’s 1986 film Manhunter, and most recently by Ralph Fiennes in the 2002 Brett Ratner-directed Red Dragon.

This adds another layer to the series, with Season 3 hand-picking various story elements from Red Dragon, Hannibal, and even the less warmly received Hannibal Rising. Regardless, our anticipation just got that little bit higher.

Hannibal: Season 3 will air on Sky Living in the UK sometime in 2015. Keep up with the latest genre TV news in the most recent issue of SciFiNow.